


Fifty Four Degrees and Partly Cloudy

by connorsmarkus (neganstonguething)



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Drabble, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Deviant Markus, markus gives advice to carl for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-26 20:49:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15671037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neganstonguething/pseuds/connorsmarkus
Summary: At the peak of emotion, humans can be so cruel.Just an attempt to continue where the scene left off after Leo stormed out of the studio.





	Fifty Four Degrees and Partly Cloudy

**Author's Note:**

> Here's me attempting to write Markus before going deviant. It's effectively the most challenging thing in the universe ok????

_“You never loved_ me, _Dad.”_

At the peak of emotion, humans can be so cruel.

Leo has long-since stormed out of the studio, but Carl hasn’t moved. He hasn’t requested to move. He just sits there, his hands in his lap, blue eyes gazing down at the studio floor as if there’s something interesting about it.

Markus isn’t quite sure what to say. He’s aware of many things—like how Leo has likely relapsed back into addiction, and that the reason he wants money has to do with said addiction. He’s also aware that Carl wants to help him, but not in the way he wants help. Carl just doesn’t want to see him kill himself on the day he gets too high.

Fifty-four degrees, partly cloudy…suddenly, that forecast doesn’t feel right. The room suddenly feels darker, cooler, less welcoming, and that’s how Markus knows Carl’s mood has sank. It’s his personality that lights up a room, quite honestly. His facetious smile, soft sarcastic banter, and that attitude he never hides from anyone.

But right now, he’s got that tucked under his arm like a schoolbook.

Markus dips his head in thought, LED flickering from blue to yellow and then back in a matter of seconds. He takes the few steps between himself and Carl and moves to stand next to him. He folds his hands behind his back and tips his head, speaking evenly and patiently.

“Maybe a change of scenery would do you some good, Carl. The park?”

Carl’s head turns up and his eyes meet his android’s. Markus sees something in his gaze that he can’t quite interpret. A solemn stare that holds a certain glimmer. Like even though his son has just stormed out in fury, he’s happy he doesn’t have to weather it alone. Like the android standing next to him isn’t a machine.

Markus knows who he is. He knows what he was programmed for. But he has never once turned away any of the advice Carl has given him. That said, he often doesn’t feel like a machine, himself.

“I’ll pass. Maybe I’ll watch some television.”

“Sure thing, Carl.” Markus doesn’t think it’s necessarily a good idea, but he takes hold of the wheelchair and guides Carl inside, anyway. He settles the man a safe distance from the screen. “Water?”

“Coffee.”

“You finished your cup from earlier.”

“Coffee, Markus.”

There’s some hesitation, but Markus supposes one more cup isn’t going to be too harmful. Carl’s earned the extra treat, anyway. Whatever boosts that terrible mood he’s in right now.

As Markus returns from the kitchen, Carl speaks up again.

“He’s got a right to feel that way, you know.”

“What do you mean?” Markus frowns as he passes Carl his coffee.

“Leo was sixteen when we first met,” Carl clasps the coffee mug in his hands, staring down into it. It’s so unlike him. Markus hates when he doesn’t look up. He doesn’t look like Carl Manfred when he doesn’t look up. “All I ever did for him was pay child support. We see each other every now and then, but I probably owe him a lot more than just money.”

Markus knows this story. This isn’t the first time Carl has confided in him about Leo. Carl trusts Markus with just about everything, and Markus feels honored to be given that level of trust. That’s why, despite this knowledge, he continues to listen.

“I refuse to give him more money until I know he’s not on that damned drug anymore, but I don’t blame him for his words. How am I supposed to expect a young man to respond to meeting his father for the first time at sixteen? Even all these years later, he has every right to be upset.”

“If I recall,” Markus interjects there, standing next to Carl with his hands folded behind his back once more, “you weren’t aware of Leo’s existence until his mother introduced him to you.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Leo sighs and shakes his head. “My son went without a father for most of his childhood.”

Markus frowns. His LED flickers yellow, and then blue once more. “I’m not suggesting you use it as an excuse, Carl. But you can’t forget that it’s not something you could have helped. How is your son supposed to move on if his father can’t?”

“Sit down, Markus,” Carl chides softly, waving a hand at his android. “You don’t have to poise yourself next to me like a butler.”

Markus obeys, which draws another sigh out of the human. He doesn’t speak, however, so Markus keeps talking.

“I feel like if you want to make it up to him, you should look for things you know will benefit him in the long-term.” Markus is aware that Carl has suggested rehabilitation centers for Leo before, and that Leo attended one, though he didn’t stay the full session and relapsed not long after leaving. “Keep advising him from a distance. He might not hear it now, but in the future, it could be something he’d grasp onto for dear life.”

Carl looks up from his coffee. “I know you’re right about that. It just…sucks that I won’t get to see him look at me with something other than bitterness one day.”

“It’s not impossible, Carl,” Markus reminds him, and Carl laughs. Some of that sarcasm peeks in through his words, and Markus feels relief in seeing the Carl he knows starting to resurface.

“I’m an old man, Markus,” he answers, smiling wistfully. He takes a sip of his coffee. “My body isn’t going to wait around until I’ve gotten to witness my own redemption arc. But…I will take the thought that my son may one day be alright without red ice or my money to buy it with. I’d like for him to do something that makes him happy. You know…really, truly happy.”

Silence falls over the room, and Carl’s focus is on neither the television nor his coffee. He’s staring out the window, drinking in the bright sky and warm colors. Markus notices that the room doesn’t feel quite so somber, quite so cold anymore.

“Thank you, Markus,” Carl suddenly says, still facing the window. Markus thinks he looks brighter than ever like that. “It felt nice to receive advice instead of giving it. You’ve grown so incredibly wise.”

Markus just smiles softly. “I learned it from the best.”

**Author's Note:**

> hmu on tumblr: connorsmarkus


End file.
